Rob Jones' Top 10 Posters of 2013

Dec 19, 2013

Robocop by Jay Shaw April 2013

Well, here’s my list in no particular order. My criteria was simply picking posters most likely to get hung up or presently hanging in my terrible home. As I already have three of Jay’s past achievements on my wall, this crying Frankenstein Jesus portrait of Murphy post-passion is an easy choice. That single bloody forsaken tear sets it apart from other more straight-forward depictions of the character.

The Thingby JockJuly 2013

Red, raw, and beautiful. I can hear the shriek every time I look at it. On my wall, it’s become a horrible banshee-siren hybrid beckoning me to watch “The Thing” again for the 40th time. With a few alterations, it could have also been a great poster for “Scanners.”

Metropolis by Ken Taylor March 2013

Ken really is an enemy ace at capturing the nuances of a character’s personality with the slightest expression . Here Evil Maria’s malignantly seductive gaze invites the viewer to their destruction. I’d wager a good many will follow like the blitzed lemmings at the Yoshiwara.

Sightseers by Olly Moss November 2013 A

part from it’s British Railways origins, this poster reminds me of something Charles Addams might concoct if hired by a studio. I’m a true admirer of “Chas”, so this naturally holds a lot of appeal. A perfect poster that makes me want to go see the film.

Jaws by Laurent Durieux January 2013

“Jaws” was pretty much the sword in the stone here at Mondo for a long fucking time. Every artist seemed to try their hand at the hilt, but to no avail. Lots of “big shark/little boat” solutions. Laurent, however, effortlessly succeeded (or made it look that way), and cemented his role as our once and future solver of poster imbroglios.

Pretty Things Float by JC RichardOctober 2013

JC’s original painting for this was one of the big “hits” of the Universal Monsters show at the Mondo gallery. I overheard a steady stream of confounded mutterings from folks wishing they could buy the original. Luckily we were able to play Blue Fairy and make it happen as a print. I adore and overly identify with the faint sad and confused look on the monster’s face, like a kid figuring out death when his goldfish goes belly-up in the bowl.

Magica De Spell by Phantom City Creative August 2013

Like Robert Crumb’s childhood sexualization of Bugs Bunny, I have to admit to a pre-pubescent crush on Magica as a kid (also Polly Purebred for some reason). Anyways, Erickson had a banner year with Mondo offerings in 2014, but this print is a fevered wish come true for any fan of Barks’ most alluring creation. Erickson really wrangles the lighting on these cartoon based posters so they leap away from their generally flat 2 dimensional origins (see his past sparks on “Hyde and Go Tweet” for further proof).

Silence of the Lambs (Precious) by Cesar MorenoMay 2013

Fucking precious. I love anything that spurs house guests to break into Jame Gumb impersonations. Cesar really delivered a great trio of posters this year with unique solutions, and I hope we get to see more in the coming 6 months before we burn Mondo down for the insurance money.

Spy vs Spy by DKNG September 2013

Mad Magazine became one of the larger hands molding my young brain. I’d carry a grocery bag full of issues on long-ass car trips and read through them again. When the car stopped, I’d draw from them. Then my mother read them, thought they were dirty, and took them away. My favorite part of Mad was any fucking thing Sergio Aragones slung ink on. Second to that was Jack Davis artwork. Third was Prohias’ cold warriors reimagined cleanly and expertly here by DKNG. It demonstrates a real appreciation of Prohias’ work, especially showing not only various forms of attack but countermeasures as well.

Son of Frankenstein by Rich KellyMay 2013

What really curls my socks here is that the poster presents Bela Lugosi, deservedly, as the star of the movie even with the Monster’s face all lit up. Rich presents a carefully studied portrait which I’d argue is the best rendering of a personality in any of his posters. The hangman’s noose at the end of the rope is a nice nod to Igor’s cranked neck.